Symbolism And Multiple Meanings In Jan Van Eyck's Wedding Portrait

Symbolism and the Multiple Meanings in Jan Van Eyck's Arnolfini Wedding Portrait

Throughout the Renaissance, many talented artists tried to express deep symbolism in their paintings, but no one came close to the ability of Jan Van Eyck. His paintings were so accurate and realistic that it was necessary for him to paint his miniaturists with a single strand of hair, on a brush. Jan's Arnolfini Wedding Portrait (1434) is so photo-realistic that it has been debated for decades of it's legality of a wedding document. This paper will help to understand Jan's extreme use of symbolisms and the multiple meanings of his Arnolfini wedding scene.

Today it is almost impossible to prove that this painting was an official wedding document. Marriages of wealthy people were almost always social events. One of the reasons that you could see this as a legal document is because Jan is so accurate. Jan painted this wedding scene in the 14th century and in the 15th century this painting would not stand in court. Even if it was a contract it would take place at home and without a priest. The Catholic Church discouraged this type of marriage but it wasn't always denied. In the latter middle ages of France, you would have been excommunicated for such an action. Because of Arnolfini's social status it would have probably been required for Arnolfini to have a social wedding therefore Jan might have painted this before or after the wedding. From first glance you could presume that this painting has the potential to be a legal document but there are so many factors that state otherwise.

In the middle of the painting you can see Jan's signature and it says "Jan was here 1434" (figure 3). This could have easily been a signature that was signing a wedding deal. On the other hand Jan normally signed his paintings in elaborate ways. Jan, most of the time, put the month, date, and the year on his paintings, so why did he only put the year on a presumed legal document? Why is their a red and blue turbaned figure in the reflection of the mirror (figure 4)? Some say that they are witnesses to a marriage but Jan has used the same figures in his other works (Rolin and Van der Paele Madonna's). The Council of Trent would legally say that this was a marriage by faith because it was not conducted by the church. At the time in which this painting was made it could have been a legal document but today we don't have legitimate information to prove its legality.

Typically in a wedding there is strong attention to the hand grasp (figure 9). In the wedding scene, it almost seems that Arnolfini was holding out his hand not for marriage but to symbolize fertility, and the premonition of sex after marriage. In today's weddings you don't curdle you to be wife's hand but you grasp it with sincerity. It may seem that a hand grasp is not that important but it helps to explain other possible meanings, of this painting.

Every object in this painting has a purpose or symbolism in the painting. There is a chair bench, behind Arnolfini's hand, lies a pair of gargoyle figures that are back to back. Apparently Jan was attempting to mock something that was on its Original frame. It is unknown the mockery because the frame was lost but we do know that it existed because the frame was recorded in the Royal Spanish collection, around 1700. From the untrained eye fruit would be characterized as cheerful fruitfulness. This symbolism would have been much too simple for Jan. Paintings from 15th century Germany show how cherries can be associated with lovers. Oranges were a costly import at the time and would have symbolized wealth (figure 6). A common use of a candle today is seen when a couple is trying to be romantic. The candle in the wedding scene could symbolize the acts of love or it might have a multiple meaning of the all knowing wisdom of God (figure 5). On the left bed post is an inscription of St. Margaret (figure 3). She is the patron saint of child birth. That inscription would represent their eagerness to have children. The hand grasp was also a hint to the viewer that Arnolfini wanted children. When getting into bed, most people take off their shoes, as seen on the floor in front of Arnolfini (figure 7). Those shoes are not shoes of a working class woman but shoes of wealth. There is a dog on the floor towards the bottom of the painting (figure 8). This isn't a normal dog but a fancy lap dog that only the rich would have owned. The dog also represents fidelity or in other words Arnolfini's faithfulness of his marriage. Giovanni Arnolfini is the male on the left and Giovanna Cenami is the female on the right. The couple's lifestyle is symbolized by their material goods and posture.

There is a convex mirror on the back wall that has tiny scenes of Christ's passion around it (figure 4). These small scenes would depict the couples love for Christianity. Jan would also make the scenes so obviously small so that the viewer would be intrigued and reminded of their faith. There are also prayer beads to the left of the convex mirror and they would also depict Christianity (figure 3). Like most of the painting of this time, religion played a huge role and if Jan wanted the church to support this painting he would have been forced to add religion to the painting.

Arnolfini was a brilliant cloth merchant and was born around 1400ad. He resided in Bruges and died in 1472. Arnolfini was closely tied to the court of Burgundy. Because of guild rules, Jan was only allowed to work with and for people connected to the court of Burgundy. Only such a powerful man as Arnolfini could have acquired the best Dutch painter.

The so called wife of Giovanni Arnolfini is the daughter of Guglielmo Cenami and she is Giovanna Cenami. Guglielmo was a Lucchese merchant that like Arnolfini, worked in Bruges. Guglielmo lived in Paris, where his daughter was born. There is no reliable information suggesting when they were married but by reviewing their birthdates it would have been likely that they were married around 1434, the exact year beside Jan's signature. This marriage would idealistically be a perfect match.

When looking at Cenami you would instantly think that she was pregnant (figure 1). Most critics decided that she was not pregnant but she was trying to display herself as willingness to get pregnant. There is one crucial piece of evidence to support the notion that she wasn't pregnant. She died childless. To support this thought, Arnolfini's heir was Cenami's nephew. This wedding scene now depicts a fertility scene.

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